Injuries To Muscle

Muscle injuries are among the most common, most misunderstood, and inadequately treated conditions in sports medicine. Their significance is often underestimated because most patients can continue their daily activities soon after injury. According to some studies, muscle injuries account for 10–30% of all injuries in sport. Furthermore, it has been found that 30% of all soccer injuries are muscle injuries. Muscles can be damaged both by direct trauma (impact) and by indirect trauma (overloading). The resultant injuries can be divided into ruptures and hematomas:
– ruptures can be complete or partial, and may be subdivided into strains and compression injuries;
– hematomas are the result of the injury and may be either inter- or intramuscular (there are major differences in the treatment and diagnosis of the two types).

Muscle injuries are usually benign but often annoying for the athlete because inadequate treatment can cause long absences from sporting activity. Some knowledge of the normal structure and function of muscles is necessary in order to understand how injuries may best be prevented and treated.